Climbing Workouts

What the hell is a hangboard?

That picture to the left - that's pretty much it. Fake rock with a gazillion places to jam your fingers. Hangboards are a great training tool because they allow for an almost infinite number of ways to do pull-ups. Well, "infinite" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. By allowing you to modify your grip, and off-set your hands, a hangboard is an easy way to freshen up a stale pull-up workout.

Also, climbers don't just do pull-ups on hangboards, they'll incorporate dead-hangs and ab workouts as well. Below are some workouts created by Metolius to follow. Metolious makes bomber climbing gear, and their hangboards are fantastic.

Metolius' Simulator 3D Climbing Board (pictured left) is the cadillac of hangboards, but they offer some cheaper alternatives, like the Metolius Project Hangboard which retails for about $55, and offers about half of the holds as the 3D Climbing Simulator. Rest assured, there's still plenty of nooks and crannies to jam your little fingers into for a solid hand, arm + back workout. If $55 is still a bit much for you, Metolius also offers a great product called Rock Rings.
They're compact, convenient, and you can hang'em anywhere really. Off a tree branch, a pull-up bar, basement stairs - anywhere. They retail for about $22 and for the money, they're a steal.

I personally have the Metolius Project Hangboard . I've had it for years, and I love it. They're easy to install (just screw it in to some studs, or mount it off an exposed wood beam in your basement - that's what I did.) Hangboards do a great job of increasing grip strength and forearm strength; I noticed that it helped minimize fatigue early in the season when I was running saws. It's a great training tool and can be a great conversation starter when mounted in the kitchen. Below, are some more of Metolius' other training products.